The Most Important Declutter To Have This Spring
One of the biggest trends online at the moment is decluttering. Which is pretty awesome considering how huge the haul culture is, seeing people change their mindsets towards how they consume material items is incredible. As it's spring [well, that's what the calendar says, I'm yet to be truly convinced] it's the time of year where we really get to grips with getting rid of things that we don't need. Although I'm yet to properly clean out my kitchen cupboards something I have done is have a digital declutter, an idea that was sparked by my wonderful friend Tenneil at Like Neon Love [read her post here]. And it's possibly one of the most important declutters we can have this spring...
what to do?
Here are the rules that I created for my digital declutter;
- My laptop and desktop computer; get rid of any junk files and organise everything into it's own folder.
- Back everything up.
- My phone; go through all apps, texts, photos and podcasts.
- My e-mails; anything that is no longer of use or complete junk has to be permanently deleted.
- All social media platforms; unfollow everybody that doesn't either provide something of use and if they no longer add something positive to my life they have to go.
why?
Quite a loaded question really, why do we declutter anything? For me, it's always to do with my mental state. I do not function in a cluttered environment at all, it's an age-old saying too but for me, it rings so true. But, I think we often forget about our tech when it comes to spring cleaning and decluttering. Maybe it's because I have an online job but I use my tech more than anything else in my life so it undoubtedly becomes a mess. When you're busy, it's so easy for things to become cluttered and before you know your laptop is flashing up that you need more storage. When you probably don't need to buy anything new, you just need to get rid of a few things and keep it streamlined. I'm sure we all try and set ourselves great habits too, for me, it's always my desktop that turns into absolute chaos when I'm busy and then it takes me so long to find anything. A good filing system with your tech is key, it may seem boring but pop on your favourite podcast and get to work on organising those images and documents. Something that I got into the habit of a few years ago was naming all my images with the title of the blog post that they belong to which if you're a blogger is a complete saviour as we shoot so many images that it's so easy for things to get lost. Logging onto my laptop and seeing things looking clean and tidy makes me want to get down to work and it definitely makes the task of e-mails a lot easier when you're not drowning in the latest Topshop launches or yet another million dollar offer from a Nigerian Prince.
staying happy online
Whilst it's awesome to clean out your physical clutter from your tech items. One of the most important reasons for a digital declutter is to properly curate your social media feeds to maintain your happiness online. It's all too easy to forget that we're in complete control of what we consume online and we're the ones in charge of who we follow and you have to take back that control when logging onto your social media feeds causes you distress. In the blogging world, there is always some sort of drama and it seems like human nature to be curious but when it's something that you see every single day it's draining. Not to mention how cruel it is to watch somebody be treated like that online. Because I'm almost certain nobody would want to feed into that drama if it was about them. Social media should be a place that brings us joy rather than bringing us down and if that means unfollowing or getting rid of entirely then that's ok.
you don't have to have ever single social media platform
When I graduated university I got rid of Facebook and I've not reactivated my account ever since and that was in 2012. I was fed up with the way that the platform was just a breeding ground for gossip and judgement so I took it out of my life. Although those people can easily look at this blog and my Instagram page and judge and gossip from there, it just feels different. Even to this day when I say to somebody that I don't have Facebook I might as well have said I stamp on puppies for fun. Which seems almost sad, we don't have to have every single social media platform out there, even as a blogger you don't need them all but there is this strange pressure to. I'm a big believer in having fewer platforms and really enjoying the ones that you do use, because what's the point otherwise? It's meant to be an enjoyable aspect of life, not a chore or a necessity.
getting rid of the guilt attached to the unfollow
I'm a big advocate of curating your social media feeds to be a place that you love but if there is one thing that can feel real icky it's pressing that unfollow button and it shouldn't have to be that way. When you have a connection with someone online and you start to lose that spark with them it can far too harsh to unfollow. Which is where the mute button comes into play instead, which is something I use a lot as it hides them away from our feeds. But when you have truly lost that interest or spark with someone then it is ok to unfollow, as much as it may sting it's way better in the long run and I'm sure nobody wants followers for the sake of them. Numbers can look nice but engagement means far much more. Nobody should have to feel guilty for making their social media feeds an enjoyable place to be.
